Express News Service
NEW DELHI: In what appears to be an end to a long-pending feud between Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, the two leaders have agreed to fight upcoming elections united, the Congress said on Monday.
“We have decided to fight elections united. Definitely, we will win the elections in Rajasthan. Both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot have unanimously agreed with the proposal,” said Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal after party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi’s four-hour-long discussion with Gehlot and Pilot.
After its successful outing in Karnataka, the Congress high command has now turned its focus on faction-ridden Rajasthan. Both Gehlot and Pilot have been at loggerheads over power-sharing for a long time.
The meeting assumes significance as Kharge is holding a meeting with the sparring leaders for the first time after he assumed the Congress president post in October last year. The party is looking to diffuse the long-pending leadership crisis in Rajasthan as it doesn’t want to squander its chances in the upcoming assembly polls. Senior party leaders had earlier told this newspaper that the party is looking to emulate the ‘Karnataka peace formula’ in Rajasthan, too.
Though Gehlot met Kharge at his residence at around 6 pm, Pilot joined the meeting an hour later. According to sources, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi Gandhi held discussions with Gehlot for about half an hour, after which the party’s in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Randhawa was called in.
Signaling that all is not still well, Gehlot told the media that the party’s high command is strong and it will never offer any position to any leader or worker to pacify him.
Sources said that the meeting was necessitated as Pilot has given an ultimatum to the government of his own party, setting a deadline of May 31 for addressing his three demands. Furthermore, CM Gehlot recently dismissed one of Pilot’s demands as an indication of a “lack of intellect”.
Last month, Pilot put the party in a tight spot by announcing a daylong protest to seek action on corruption cases of the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government and accused Gehlot of not bringing them to book as promised. With assembly elections a few months away, Pilot has intensified his attack against the Gehlot government over the issue of inaction on corruption.
NEW DELHI: In what appears to be an end to a long-pending feud between Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, the two leaders have agreed to fight upcoming elections united, the Congress said on Monday.
“We have decided to fight elections united. Definitely, we will win the elections in Rajasthan. Both Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot have unanimously agreed with the proposal,” said Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal after party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi’s four-hour-long discussion with Gehlot and Pilot.
After its successful outing in Karnataka, the Congress high command has now turned its focus on faction-ridden Rajasthan. Both Gehlot and Pilot have been at loggerheads over power-sharing for a long time.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
The meeting assumes significance as Kharge is holding a meeting with the sparring leaders for the first time after he assumed the Congress president post in October last year. The party is looking to diffuse the long-pending leadership crisis in Rajasthan as it doesn’t want to squander its chances in the upcoming assembly polls. Senior party leaders had earlier told this newspaper that the party is looking to emulate the ‘Karnataka peace formula’ in Rajasthan, too.
Though Gehlot met Kharge at his residence at around 6 pm, Pilot joined the meeting an hour later. According to sources, Kharge and Rahul Gandhi Gandhi held discussions with Gehlot for about half an hour, after which the party’s in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Randhawa was called in.
Signaling that all is not still well, Gehlot told the media that the party’s high command is strong and it will never offer any position to any leader or worker to pacify him.
Sources said that the meeting was necessitated as Pilot has given an ultimatum to the government of his own party, setting a deadline of May 31 for addressing his three demands. Furthermore, CM Gehlot recently dismissed one of Pilot’s demands as an indication of a “lack of intellect”.
Last month, Pilot put the party in a tight spot by announcing a daylong protest to seek action on corruption cases of the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government and accused Gehlot of not bringing them to book as promised. With assembly elections a few months away, Pilot has intensified his attack against the Gehlot government over the issue of inaction on corruption.
